St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-16
1t Sweeps Eleven Chinese
Cities From the Face of
the Earth,
And Covers 1000 Square
Miles of land With a
Raging Sea.
Probably a Million People
Lost Their Lives in the
Great Disaster,
While Other Millions Are
Starving and Naked--The
Deadly Yellow River.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15.-The steam
ship City of Sydney arrived this after
noon from Hong Kong and YokOhoma.
Chinese papers give details of a dis
RSter OccasiOned by the Yellow river
OverflOwing its banks in the province of
Honau, and describe it as one of the
most appalling occurrences in loss of
life and property recorded in recent
times. The river broke its banks on the
evening of Sept. 2S southwest of the
city of Ching Chow, and not only COM
pletely inundated that city, but also ten
other pOpulOuS cities. The whole area
is now raging sea ten TO thirty feet
deep where it was once densely popu-
lated and rich plain. The former bed
of the Yellow river is now dry, and the
present lake was the bed of the river
centuries ago. The loss of life is in
calculable, and the statement is made
by missionaries that millions of Chinese
are homeless and starving. Thomas
L
writing from the HOnau province, under
date of Oct. 2S says: The newly gath
cred crops, houses and trees are all
swept away, involving
FEARFUL LOSS OF LIFE.
The country was covered with fine
winter braid, which is gone, and implies
a complete destruction to next years
crop. Bread, bread.' is the cry of
thousands who are Oh the river bank.
Benevolent people 90 in boats and
throw bread among the masses
here and there, but it is
nothing compared with the require
ments. The mass of people is still
being increased by continual arrivals
even more hungry than the last. There
they sit stunned, hungry and detected
without rag to wear or a mOrSel of
food. Mat hutS are being erected for
them. What it will be in two months
can not conceive. The misery is in
creased owing to the bitter cold
weather" yellow river has long been
known as
CIIINA'S SORROW
and the present disaster has served to
Teas Sert its right to the terrible title.
As yet the details of the disaster are
very meager. 1t has occurred in dis
trict where but few foreigners ar e, and
reports furnished by officials and pub
lished in the Peking Gazette convey
very inadequate report of the extent of
loss of life and property and sufferings
of the survivors. The governor in
Honau reports to the throne that
''nearly all people have been
drowned in the district reached
by water, the survivors being those
who escaped TO high ground or
took refuge i'll trees, where they re-
manned until they were rescued. This
gives but little impression as to what
the extent of the disaster really is. The
Chinese Times states that in the prov
ince of Chilli, where disastrous inunda-
tionS have also occurred, there are 27O,-
600 people homeless, representing those
whose lives were destroyed, and adds
that misery in that province is trifiing
compared with that caused by the
Huang Ho, or Yellow river. The ex-
tent of the ground swept over by
THE OVERWHELMING FLOOD,
given in English figures. is over 1000
square miles, and the land thus sub
merged formed part of one of the rich
est and most densely populated plains
of Northern China. The necessity for
liberal aid may therefore be imagined.
Already considerable sums have been
contributed towards the relief of the
sufferers. The emperor Of China has
given two millions of teals, and Chinese
have started subscription lists in Shang-
hal, to which foreigners have literally
contributed. Millions have been rem
dered homeless and entirely de-
livelihood, for their fields will
either become permanent lakes or unin-
habitable swampS. 1t is feared that the
distress which will be felt during the
coming winter will equal in intensity
the famine of ten years ago, when the
charitable donations contributed from
all parts of the world were utterly mad
equate. 1t is stated that owing to the
action taken by the Yellow river, it no
longer floats toward the sea. but seems
content in converting Eastern HOnau
and Northern Nganwhui into 4 lake. 1t
may ultimately flow into the sea through
the KiangOn, or it may even possibly
join the Yangtsze.